


High School Rivals? More Like High School Sweethearts

by Myoneloveismusic



Series: JayTim Week 2018 [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, High School AU, M/M, jaytimweek 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-20
Updated: 2018-03-20
Packaged: 2019-04-05 08:20:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14040105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Myoneloveismusic/pseuds/Myoneloveismusic
Summary: Jason and Tim had hated each other for as long as they could remember and everyone in school new about it. But after being paired up for an English assignment that leaves them revealing some of their vulnerabilities, their animosity turns into something else. Something that might have been there all along.





	High School Rivals? More Like High School Sweethearts

**Author's Note:**

> This is my fic for JayTimWeek 2018 Day 2! A lovely enemies to friends to lovers high school AU that I had so much fun writing! 
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> <3 MOLIM

Tim scowled as he heard a loud bark of laughter echo down the hallway.

“If you keep making that face it’ll get stuck like that, you know,” Bart said, shoving a handful of chips into his mouth.

Tim closed his eyes and took a breath, exhaling slowly. “He just gets on my nerves so much. Especially in English. He’s such a know-it-all.”

“He can’t be that bad,” Bart reasoned. “It’s not like English is your strongest subject. Just keep your head down and work and it’ll be fine.”

“I guess,” Tim muttered before another booming laugh echoed down the hall and a muscle ticked in his jaw.

Bart held out his bag of chips and Tim took one, chomping on it angrily.

~~

“Alright,” Mr. Thompson said, handing out stacks of papers to the first person in each row. “Now that we’ve finished the major reading assignment for this semester, each of you is going to work on a project with a partner. Don’t even bother asking if you can pick your partners because I’ve already assigned them for you.”

Tim tensed as Thompson walked over to his podium and lifted a sheet of paper. He forced himself to relax because of all the chances, there was no way that he could ever be paired with him. Thompson went through the list. Tim only half listened until he heard his name.

“Tim Drake, you’ll be paired with Jason Todd.”

He froze for a split second before his head snapped to the side, eyes locking with Jason who was already scowling at him. Tim returned the scowl as Thompson continued down the list.

“Now,” he said, tossing the list aside. “For this project you have the choice of one of the things listed. I’m willing to consider additional ideas for what you might want to do so feel free to ask me if you want to diverge from this list, but I might not accept additional suggestions if I don’t feel they accomplish what I want you to get done. Since we have about twenty minutes left of class, I’ll give you time to talk with your partners to brainstorm. This is the only time I’m giving you in class for this. The rest of it will be done outside of class. Get to work.”

Tim pushed out of his chair and Jason did the same. They met halfway across the room and stared at each other before turning to Thompson who was still standing at his podium.

“I can’t work with him as my partner!” they said together, pointing a finger at each other.

Thompson smiled. “Look, I’ve made my decision on who’s going to be partnered with who. Unless you can give me concrete evidence as to why the two of you can’t be partners, my decision is going to stand. Surely, the two of you are smart enough to put your differences aside for a simple English project?”

Tim glanced at Jason out of the corner of his eye and saw he was watching him, too.

“Now, if that’s all, I suggest the two of you get to brainstorming what you want to do with your project. The clock’s ticking.”

They scowled at each other before turning away from Thompson’s desk and picking their way through other students’ bags and legs to find two desks next to each other. Jason practically fell into his seat while Tim tucked a leg underneath him neatly.

“Okay,” Jason said, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Any ideas which project you’d like to do?”

“Something that requires the least amount of interaction with you,” he mumbled, staring down at the paper. His eyes moved down the list of options quickly and he bit his lip without thinking, physically having to stop himself from bouncing his leg up and down. He was nervous and it was only partially because he was working with Jason Todd of all people.

English wasn’t his greatest subject and this project was a failing grade waiting to happen. He just didn’t mesh well with English. He wasn’t perfect. He knew he wasn’t. He knew he was better with numbers and science. All the analytics that went into computer programming or finding a logical solution. To him that…wasn’t English.

“Fine,” Jason huffed. “What do you suggest then?”

Tim shrugged, thoughts becoming more and more scattered as he thought over how he was going to make this work.

“Are you…okay?”

Tim glanced up and found Jason watching him carefully. He was surprised when he didn’t see any animosity there. He hunched his shoulders, twining his fingers in the hem of his sweatshirt.

“I just need a good grade on this project,” he mumbled.

“And you think I don’t?” Jason snapped. He rubbed a hand over his face and sighed. “Look, just…think about which one you want to do and meet me in the library after school. We can talk about this then and figure out how we’re going to divide up the work and get this done.”

Tim sighed and nodded, folding the assignment sheet tightly in his hands.

~~

Tim hesitated with his hand on the doorknob. He mentally berated himself before pulling it open. It was just the library. The worst thing Jason could do would be to stand him up and it’s not like that would be that consequential. He’d almost expect it since they disliked each other so much.

He glanced around the room, finding Jason already occupying one of the round tables in the corner, books spread over the surface. He walked over to him, keeping his head low and stopped just short of the chair opposite him.

“Hey,” he said, shifting his weight between his feet.

Jason looked up, barely sparing him a glance. “Hey. You can sit you know.”

Tim rolled his eyes and pulled out the chair before dropping into it. “Yeah, thanks. You sure didn’t waste any time making a home for yourself. You live in the library or something?”

Jason glared at him. “I have a free period at the end of the day and come in here to study. It helps me get some work done before going to work at my part-time job after school.”

Tim felt everything stutter to a halt because Jason having a job he worked after school was not an option he’d easily considered. “Oh.”

“Yeah,” he scoffed. “We don’t all have parents who can pay for anything we want to do on a whim. Some of us have to actually earn our money.”

Tim winced even as he sensed a little bit of vulnerability there. “Sorry.”

Jason blinked at him and eased the tension that had slowly been winding up in his muscles fall away now that a fight wasn’t looming on the horizon and he didn’t need to defend himself.

“Don’t you need to get to work then?” he asked, clearing his throat.

“Not today,” Jason said, shuffling his books around without looking up. “I’ve got the afternoon off, but we need to make the most of it since my schedule isn’t as flexible as other people’s.”

Tim nodded and unzipped his backpack so he could pull his wrinkled assignment paper free.

“Have you thought about what you might want to do?” Jason asked.

Tim shrugged. “I don’t really like the option of doing an in-depth analysis,” he said, keeping his gaze strictly on the paper. “Seems too complicated for a project like this.” He knew he was grasping at straws and what he said didn’t make any sort of sense, but he really hoped Jason would get what he was going for without actually getting it and recognizing the vulnerability that was creeping far too close to the surface.

Jason hummed. “I think the best option for us would be to put together the slideshow. That way we could use a lot of images and make our assigned section a lot easier to digest and understand compared to just having to read the lines on the page or trying to explain what the characters are saying without actually breaking it down. How does that sound?”

Tim mulled over the thought. He knew that whatever project they took on he was going to have to put in some extra work to go over the material more than once to make sure he actually understood it, but it was the best outcome they had. And they could work on the slideshow online which would mean less time trying to juggle schedules if need be and less opportunity for Jason to pick up on how bad he was at actually understanding the material.

He nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

“Cool. I figure we could divide the section in half. We shouldn’t need too many slides to cover what’s going on and if we make it funny enough that should give us an edge as long as we’re explaining the material,” Jason said, flipping through his copy of _Macbeth_ until he got to their scene. “We could split if around here,” he said, showing Tim where he was drawing a dividing line. “Are you good with the first part and I can take the second?”

Tim nodded, pulling out his own book so he could mark the passage and made a note on his own assignment sheet. He tapped his pencil against the paper and glanced up at Jason whose eyes were roving over the words on the page. The skin between his eyebrows furrowed and he bit his lip before scribbling something in the margin of his book.

“Well if that’s all we need…” Tim said, scooting back in his chair.

Jason paused and glanced up at him. “Yeah, if you just want to send me the link to the online slideshow later I can get to work on it as soon as possible.”

“Sure, yeah.” Tim cleared his throat and nodded to himself.

“But-“ Jason said and Tim stopped fidgeting. “You can stay if you want. I don’t mind, really. If you’re just going to work or whatever.”

Tim froze and glanced up at Jason who was studiously looking down at his book. “Uh, yeah. Thanks.”

He pulled out his rumpled notebook and flipped to a clean page where he could start making notes. He moved to the beginning of the scene and read over the scene markers. He nodded to himself understanding it was placed in a castle and the atmosphere that was being set. He made a note he could start there with establishing the setting and moved to the first parts of dialogue.

Tim tapped his pen against the notebook a few times before he caught himself and stopped. Instead, his leg started to shake under the table.

“Look what’s wrong?” Jason snapped. Tim glanced up at him and saw the scowl pulling at his lips. “If you don’t want to stay you don’t have to.”

“It’s not that it’s just-“ Tim clamped his mouth around the words before he could reveal something that Jason could tease him for, for the rest of the year. It would be the perfect ammunition to humiliate him in front of the rest of the school. Or he could tell Jason how bad he is at English and they could actually get a good grade on this project. He let out a huge breath and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m not good at this,” he said waving at his book.

Jason furrowed his brow. “What, reading?”

Tim shrugged. “Sort of. I’m not good at English. I know how to read, but understanding what’s going on in this story, not so much,” he muttered.

Jason blinked before realization dawned on his face. “That’s why you make so many snide comments when you’re asked questions in class.”

Tim flushed and looked away.

“Holy shit man, I thought it was because you hated the class and thought it was a joke.”

Tim hunched his shoulders. “I only hate the class because I don’t get it. And I hated how good you were at it. It made me feel like an idiot.”

Jason was quiet for a moment. “I could help you.”

Tim blinked. “What?”

“I could help you with the story. I could help you understand what’s going on in the play.”

“I-really? You’d really do that for me?” he asked.

Jason shrugged and nodded. “I don’t mind. It’ll make this project easier, too.”

“Thanks, I…just thanks.”

Jason flipped to the beginning of the scene and leaned over the table. Tim mimicked his posture keeping his eyes on the text in front of him.

~~

Tim sat cross-legged on his bed with his phone holding his copy of _Macbeth_ open to the part of the scene he was going over. There were pencil marks over the lines and in the margins and more post-it notes than Tim had ever put in a book before, lining the pages. His laptop was resting on top of his blanket and he was looking at the slideshow that he was barely started with on the computer and trying to decide which picture of a castle he wanted to use.

He’d already sent a link to the presentation to Jason, but he hadn’t accessed it yet. The afternoon had been a surprise for Tim. Jason cared for the material in a way he’d never seen before. It made him want to make this the best presentation of his high school career.

Tim drummed his fingers lightly against his computer and clicked on the second picture. He tried to fight back the quirk of his lips, but he couldn’t. He cleared his throat and ran his finger down the page before going back to scrolling through pictures.

~~

“Tim. Earth to Tim. Tim!”

“Huh?” he asked, gaze snapping to where Bart was walking next to him.

Bart raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. “Okay bro, who the hell has caught your attention?”

“No one,” he said automatically. “Wait, what do you mean?”

“I mean the whole staring off into space thing with a dreamy look in your eyes. Care to explain, dude?” he asked, waving a hand up and down at him.

“I’m not staring off into space like some lovesick damsel,” Tim scoffed. “You’re imagining things.”

“Am I?” Bart asked.

Tim shook his head and sighed. A loud laugh caught his attention and he looked down the hallway, catching sight of Jason with his arm around Roy and grinning as they shared a joke or something.

“There it is!” Bart exclaimed,

Tim blinked and turned his attention back to Bart who was pointing at him accusingly.

“That’s the look!”

Tim furrowed his brow and batted Bart’s finger away. “I don’t have a look.”

When Bart didn’t say anything else or move away, Tim shook his head and turned to continue down the hallway. Jason and Roy were heading in the opposite direction. Jason’s eyes opened and his gaze turned down the hall where Tim was. His grin shifted to something softer and he nodded at Tim before walking on.

“Ooooh!!!!”

Tim rolled his eyes as Bart jumped in front of him and stuck his finger in his face again. Tim batted it away, fighting down the urge to cut it off.

“What?” he grumbled.

“Since when do you have a thing for Jason Todd?”

Tim’s thoughts screeched to a halt. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“You like Jason!”

“No I don’t.”

“Yes you do!”

“I’m not talking about this,” he said raising his hands in surrender and walking backwards away from Bart. “I’ll see you later when you’ve freed yourself of your delusions.”

He turned and hurried down the hallway and away from what Bart had thrown in his face. He didn’t have time to focus on an idea like that. He had his pre-calculus class to get to.

~~

Tim was having a harder time than usual focusing in English. Bart’s words had been stuck in his head since that morning and it was even worse now that he was in the same room as Jason. He bit back a sigh when his eyes strayed from the short story in front of him yet again. And this was one of the times he actually felt confident after doing his homework the night before.

“Tim?”

“Tim Drake?”

His eyes snapped up from the page and saw Thompson looking down at him over the top of his glasses. He raised an eyebrow at him.

“Care to answer my question?”

“Um…uh…can you repeat the question please?” he mumbled, running his hand over the back of his head and ducking to look at the page in front of him.

“I asked what the meaning of the house is in the story.”

Tim felt his face heat up as he racked his brain. “Um…I guess it could resemble the types of barriers and constraints he faces in life…”

“Okay,” Thompson said. “Anyone else want to add to that? Agree? Disagree? Let’s discuss.”

Tim sank back in his chair, eyes flicking over to Jason whose lips were pursed as he watched him across the room. He ran a hand through his hair and felt his face heat up even further.

~~

Tim threw his books into his backpack when the bell rang and hurried from his desk and into the hallway.

“Tim! Hey, Tim!”

He wrapped his hands around the straps of his backpack and kept his head down, wanting nothing more than for the day to be over and to forget everything that happened.

“Tim, wait up.”

A hand wrapped around his shoulder and spun him around. He glanced up at Jason but kept his head lowered.

“What?” he asked.

“Are you…I mean is everything okay with you? I mean if you need help with the homework I can give you a hand?”

Tim shifted. “I…I just…”

“Hey Jason!”

Tim glanced up and watched Jason look over his shoulder at Roy coming down the hallway. Tim shook his head and turned on his heal, hurrying away to his next class.

~~

Tim stared up at the ceiling above his head trying to block out everything from that afternoon. He huffed and turned towards his computer that had the slideshow for his and Jason’s project pulled up. He slowly scrolled through the slides, looking through what Jason had added. He tucked his hand under his head when he reached the end of the slideshow and sighed.

Movement in the corner of the screen caught his attention and he saw that Jason had logged on. He watched as Jason added another slide, but instead of a picture showing up on it, Tim watched as text appeared. He clicked down to the new slide and watched as Jason typed.

_Are you okay?_

Tim smiled ruefully and rubbed a hand over his eyes before responding to the question.

_Tim: For the most part. Today was not the best day I’ve had._

_Jason: Do you need help with the new story? You seemed like you were struggling in class today._

_Tim: I was doing okay with last night’s homework, I just…I was distracted in class today and couldn’t focus._

_Jason: Anything you feel like talking about?_

Tim bit his lip, tapping a finger against the keys on his computer.

_Tim: Just a comment my friend Bart made this morning. I had trouble blocking it out._

_Jason: Oh. Okay._

_Jason: So…what did you think of tonight’s homework?_

_Tim: I haven’t done it yet…_

_Jason: Still distracted?_

_Tim: Yeah…_

Tim rolled onto his back with a huff. There was no way Bart could be right, could he? He shook his head. Even if he was, nothing would’ve come out of it anyway. He turned his head and looked back at the screen where Jason was typing something.

_Jason: At least tomorrow’s Friday. You’ll have the whole weekend after that to deal with whatever’s going on. Find something to do or go out with friends to distract you from the distraction. That’s the only logical explanation anyway._

_Tim: I don’t even know what I’d do to try and distract from the distraction. Bart would be the last person I’d want to bring because he wouldn’t do much good in distracting me. I know there’s a market going on. That would be cool to go to. Get some food or whatever and get out of the house._

_Jason: Yeah! There you go. Food’s the best distraction and…I mean…if you need someone to go with you…I could come? If you want?_

Tim blinked several times, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.

_Tim: Are you sure? You don’t have to work or anything?_

_Jason: Nah, I’m at my limit for hours this week so they couldn’t schedule me over the weekend. So I’m actually free for once. So if you wanted to go with someone, I’m definitely tempted with some good food._

Tim smiled.

_Tim: Yeah, that would be great actually._

_Jason: Cool_

_Tim: I should get to work on homework… Even with the distraction, I can’t avoid it entirely._

_Jason: Good luck avoiding the distraction. If you need any help with English, I’ll be here._

_Tim: Thanks_

He sat up with a sigh and pulled his backpack towards him to dig through his books only realizing after a few minutes that he was grinning like an idiot.

~~

Tim grunted when his head was pushed down and a hand ruffled his hair. He batted the hand away to try and get a look at who it was-and there went his brain stuttering to a stop. He tried fixing his hair as Jason grinned down at him.

“So,” Jason started. “I was thinking about the whole market that’s going on tomorrow and I looked it up to get an idea of what the hours are gonna be and it seems it starts pretty early.”

Tim nodded. “It does, yeah. Why, is that a problem?”

Jason shook his head. “Nah, I was just maybe wondering if you wanted to grab a coffee before? That way we can get all hyped up on caffeine and terrorize the stall workers.”

Tim chuckled. “I think I’m immune to the effects of coffee at this point, but feel free to terrorize all you like. I’m sure it’ll be good for more than a little laugh. Just don’t go getting yourself kicked out.”

Jason hummed. “Could they really kick me out though? I mean like seriously, is that even possible? It’s an open market-“

“They have police officers on standby, Jason,” Tim interrupted. “Yeah, it may not be a whole army of them, but I don’t think it would be too hard for them to pass around your picture to make sure you don’t have the chance to hang around.”

Jason pouted. “You’ll just have to get kicked out with me, then.”

“I am not going to get kicked out of the market. It’s supposed to be my distraction, remember?”

Jason sighed. “My plan has been foiled again.”

“You might want to try harder on those plans if that’s the best you got,” Tim said with a snicker.

“Hey…”

“Jason!”

They both turned to find Roy hurrying down the hallway towards them. He blinked a little in surprise at Tim, but that didn’t stop him from grabbing on to Jason’s arm.

“Jason, where’ve you been all morning?”

“Hiding from you,” he said, raising an eyebrow.

“Okay, rude,” he said giving him a shove.

Jason grinned. “Calm down, Roy. It’s not like I’m avoiding you.”

He shook his head. “Okay, whatever. That’s beside the point right now. Are you busy this weekend? I figure we could hang out tomorrow or something.”

“I can’t. I’ve got plans.”

Roy glanced down at Tim and a grin pulled his lips wide into a smirk. “Plans, huh?”

“Whatever it is you’re thinking, Roy, stop it,” Jason warned.

He held up his hands and backed away. “Nah, man. I wouldn’t want to get in the way of the plans you’re making.”

“Roy,” Jason said, taking a step towards him.

“Later, Jason!” he called before turning on his heel and sprinting away.

Jason swore under his breath and chased after him. Tim blinked at their disappearance and turned to head to his class, not seeing all of the stares he was getting in the hallway.

~~

“Dude,” Bart said as soon as he sat down at their table for lunch.

“What?” he asked, pulling the plastic wrapper off his burger.

“Are you and Jason dating?”

Tim choked on air and coughed to clear his throat. He was really glad he wasn’t eating because he’d probably be on the floor dying with burger stuck in his throat.

“No! Where the hell did you hear that?”

Bart steepled his fingers together. “I have several eye-witness accounts saying the two of you were talking in the hallway and that he ruffled your hair. _Ruffled your hair,_ Tim!”

“First of all, if he did that, that’s not something couples usually do. I’d think it’d be more like handholding or a kiss on the cheek, but a hair ruffle? No. And second, he just had a question he needed to ask me. As soon as his friend showed up he ditched me.”

“You sound kind of disappointed by that, Tim.”

He rolled his eyes. “I wasn’t disappointed by it. I had to get to class and he had whatever it was he had to do. So can you let this go? The only reason we’ve had a conversation was because we’re paired up for a project in English.”

“Oh,” Bart said, sagging back into his chair. “I guess that makes sense.”

“Maybe you should make sure you have all the facts before you jump to conclusions, Sherlock,” Tim said, turning back to his food.

“You wanna hang out this weekend?” Bart asked.

“Uh, I can’t. I have plans.”

“English project stuff?” he asked.

Tim nodded. “Yeah, English project stuff.”

~~

Tim ran his hands over his shirt and wondered if he was putting too little effort into what he was wearing. Then he mentally, and possibly physically, there was plausible deniability, slapped himself.

“This isn’t a date,” he chastised. “You’re just going to the market and you’re going to hang out and eat too much food. This isn’t a date.” He paused and made a face in the mirror at himself. “But do I want it to be?”

He forced himself away from his reflection and shoved his feet into converse, pulling the laces a little too tight as he tied them. He grabbed his hoodie and slipped his arms through the sleeves before pocketing his wallet and cell phone.

He took one last look in the mirror and ran a hand through his hair, hoping it didn’t look too messy like he’d just rolled out of bed.

“Shit,” he breathed. “Shit, shit, shit,” he said, pushing through his bedroom door and hurrying down the stairs.

~~

Tim was expecting to beat Jason to the coffee shop and have his drink in hand by the time he got there, but Jason was sitting at the counter in front of the window with two cups in hand when he got there.

“Hey,” Tim said, awkward shuffling forward and backward. He didn’t know the protocol for this kind of thing.

Jason grinned. “I hope you don’t mind, I already grabbed us some coffee,” he said, holding out one of the cups.

“Oh, thanks,” Tim said. He took a sip and sighed. It was just the right temperature. “Want to get started?” he asked, nodding towards the door.

“Sure,” he said, hopping down off his stool.

They pushed out the door and turned down the street towards the park that had been reserved for the market. A wave of smells hit them before they managed to cross the street and Tim’s mouth was already watering at trying all the different kinds of stuff they had.

“I’m probably going to gain ten pounds before we leave here,” Jason murmured.

Tim snickered and took another sip of coffee. “I know, right? It all smells so good. I don’t even know where to start.”

“How about…” Jason grinned, eyes lighting up as he spotted something. “A waffle on a stick?”

Tim choked on a laugh. “You can’t be serious? That’s an actual thing?” he asked, trying to follow Jason’s line of sight.

“Maybe somewhere, but how about we do crepes instead? That’s a good breakfast slash dessert.”

“Two of the best meals,” Tim said, following Jason as they wove around the few people that were already there.

“If you think dessert is a meal does that mean you think coffee is a food group?” Jason asked.

Tim grinned. “Well…”

“Never mind, don’t answer that. Let’s just get a crepe and leave that alone.”

Tim chuckled and looked over the menu. He stepped up to the worker ahead of Jason who flashed a smile at him.

“What can I get for you?” she asked, wiping her already clean hands on her apron.

“Can I get a Nutella crepe with bananas and whipped cream?”

“Of course! That’ll be $4.25.”

Tim handed over a five dollar bill and took his change, watching as she got to work pouring batter over the hot stone and working it into a flat circle. He reached for it greedily after she covered it in Nutella and cream, not even hesitating to take a bite. He hummed and closed his eyes.

“And for you?” she asked, turning her attention to Jason.

“I’ll go for the peanut butter and banana with maple.”

They watched as she made Jason’s food and he took it from her with a smile. They walked on, eating their crepes and looking over the stalls of homemade goods. Tim saw soaps and some clothes and wood work, but didn’t find anything he was too interested in buying. Every other stall seemed to have some sort of food it was selling that left his mouth watering and fingers itching to buy it even though he was eating already.

“Hey look at this,” Jason said, catching his arm and pointing to a new booth. The table was filled with plastic containers that had different chocolates and what looked like fudge.

Tim smirked. “Got a sweet tooth?”

“Not as much as you,” Jason shot back, bumping their shoulders together. “I was thinking these would be good to pick up for my mom.” 

Tim blinked. “You should. What does she like?”

Jason hummed and looked over the labels on the containers. Tim watched him with his head bowed. His eyebrows furrowed as he thought and a slow grin pulled at his lips when he found one he liked, long fingers reaching for the container. Tim swallowed as his hair caught the sunlight just right and his eyes sparkled while he spoke with the vendor. He looked away, shuffling nervously.

“Okay we are good to go,” Jason said cheerfully, looping the bag around his wrist.

“Yeah,” Tim said, scratching the back of his neck.

They made their way down the line of booths, weaving their way through the growing number of people. Tim kept stealing glances at Jason, trying to fight off the sinking realization that he might like him a little more than he should. He tried telling himself he could find Jason attractive without having actual feelings for him, but he quickly realized that was not what was going on when Jason laughed or smiled and he nearly tripped over his own two feet.

“Over here,” Tim said, trying to distract himself from Jason for one moment. He walked up to a booth that was making fresh philly cheesesteaks. “You hungry for lunch?” he asked, turning to look at Jason who was not actually standing behind him. He frowned and turned in a circle, trying to find him over the other people at the market.

He caught sight of a head of red hair that looked a little too familiar and wove around a larger group of people. He stopped short when he saw Jason trying to push Roy away between two tents. Jason’s back was to him, but Roy grinned when he saw him. He pushed past Jason and hurried over to him. Tim barely saw Jason bury his head in his hands before Roy was leaning over him.

“Tim, right?” he asked, holding out a hand. “I’m Roy.”

Tim shook his hand politely. “Nice to meet you.”

“Roy,” Jason growled coming up behind him.

“Relax, Jason, we’re just having a conversation,” he said rolling his eyes and shaking his head. The reaction made Tim huff a laugh and he saw Roy’s grin stretch wider. “So Tim…is Jason here treating you all right.”

“Um…”

“I just want to make sure he’s acting like a proper boyfriend and treating you to a good time.”

Tim felt his brain short circuit and Jason hissed behind Roy, pulling him away. He watched as Jason pulled Roy between two stalls and disappear on the other side. He blinked trying to make sense of what Roy had said and was about to walk away so he didn’t have to think about anything when Jason hurried back over to him.

“Sorry about that,” he explained, a little breathless. “Roy can be a little weird sometimes.”

“Uh…sure.”

Jason looked around and pursed his lips, scratching the back of his neck. “Uh, shall we?” he asked, gesturing towards the row of booths they’d been walking along before the interruption.

“Uh, I found this stall selling philly cheesesteaks if you’re hungry for lunch?” Tim asked.

“Sure. We could split one and grab some dessert to top it off,” Jason suggested. “You buy the sandwich and I’ll get dessert.”

Tim nodded. “Sure.” He pushed through the crowd of people in front of the stall and found a rather haggard teen taking orders as someone cooked behind them.

“Cheesesteak?” they asked.

“Please,” Tim said with a nod.

“Coming right up,” they said, taking the money from Tim’s hand and slipping it into the cash box before pulling out the change.

“Found us some drinks,” Jason said, popping up behind him.

Tim turned and smiled at the sodas in his hands, taking one from his fingers. “Thanks,” he said unscrewing the lid and taking a sip, wincing against the carbonation.

“Order up for you and your boyfriend!”

Tim’s head whipped around and he saw the same worker holding out the wrapped sandwich. He pointed over his shoulder at Jason. “He’s not my…we’re not…uh, thanks,” Tim said, taking the sandwich and turning back to Jason. He cleared his throat and moved past him. “Want to find somewhere to sit and eat this?”

“Yeah, I think I saw some picnic tables back that way,” Jason said, pointing over the crowd.

“Sure.”

Jason placed a hand on his lower back and directed Tim through the crowd until they found an empty table. Instead of sitting at the benches around it, they took a seat next to each other on top of the table, letting their feet rest on the bench.

Tim set his drink next to his hip and pulled open the wrapping. His fingers hovered over the sandwich, trying to find a place to pull it in half. He experimentally pulled it down the middle even as pieces of ground beef spilled out of the bread.

“Uh, here,” he said, holding out one end of the sandwich to Jason. “I guess I should’ve grabbed some napkins.

Jason gave him a smile and cradled it in his hands as best he could without letting the meat fall out. Tim leaned over the wrapping and took a bite, tilting his head to the side. He shared a look with Jason and tried to suppress a smile.

“Maybe we should’ve gone with something that’s easier to eat,” Tim said.

Jason hummed. “That takes all the fun out of it.”

“Here,” Tim said, moving his soda so he could turn and put the paper wrapping on the table between them. “You might as well use this, too.”

Jason copied his position and leaned over the wrapping as he took another bite. Tim washed down his food with a swig of his soda, fiddling with the plastic cap between his fingers. He ducked his head when Jason gave him a curious look and screwed the lid back on before reaching for his sandwich, hoping for a distraction because it seemed that was all he was good for.

The sounds of the market blended into the background and Tim’s mind thought over what the worker had said about them being boyfriends even as he was more than a little aware of how close Jason was to him. Maybe Bart had been right about his interest. His reaction to the assumption they were dating had more to do with not knowing how Jason would handle it than hating the idea himself.

He glanced up at Jason whose gaze was fixed on the crowd as he shoved the last bite of his sandwich into his mouth. The wind ruffled his hair and Tim wondered how soft it would be and how it would feel to run his fingers through it. Jason glanced back at him and he dropped his gaze, hands crumpling up the empty wrapper instead.

“You ready for dessert?” Jason asked.

He looked up and nodded. “Sure. Seen any places you like?”

Jason’s lips ticked up in a smile. “I might’ve found something. Come on,” he said, pulling Tim’s hand until he got down from the table.

Tim tossed the empty wrapper into a trash can as Jason pulled him through the crowd. There were more people around them and the lines at the stalls were getting longer. The smell of frying pastry hit them after they pushed past a group of people and Jason gestured proudly to a stall.

“Funnel cakes?” Tim asked with a smirk.

“Yeah, you got a problem with them?” Jason asked, finally dropping his hand to put his hands on his hips.

Tim huffed a laugh. “If you really think I would have a problem with fried dough covered in powdered sugar then you obviously don’t know me.”

“I mean I don’t,” Jason said. “Not really.”

Tim opened and closed his mouth. “You’re right. We haven’t exactly done much talking that wasn’t shouting insults at each other or aggressive eye rolls.”

Jason snickered. “That’s true. Our eye rolls could get pretty aggressive. So, Tim…what do I need to know to understand who you are?” he asked as they got in line.

Tim hummed. “Well you already know how bad I am at English, but I like computers and science. And photography. I’m really big on photography.”

“Are you one of those hipsters who has a Polaroid camera?”

Tim shook his head. “No. I don’t have one of those, but I do like to take pictures using film and develop them myself.”

Jason blinked. “You actually know how to develop pictures?”

Tim nodded. “Yeah. It took a bit of practice at first, but I’m kind of a pro now and have my own makeshift dark room at home.”

“That’s…”

Tim cringed, waiting for it to be called lame or dorky or stupid or any of the other adjectives that had been used to describe his passion.

“…really cool! Do you think you could show me sometime?”

Tim gaped.

“What, did I say something wrong?” Jason asked.

“No, I…it’s just, no one has ever been interested in seeing my photography before.”

“Maybe you should meet some new people then,” he said, turning to the worker at the stall.

Tim watched him as he placed an order and handed over the money before getting a fresh paper plate with a warm lump of dough and powdered sugar.

“Yeah, maybe,” Tim said, pulling a piece of dough from the plate and popping it into his mouth.

Jason smiled and pulled his own piece of fried dough free and bit down on it. Tim ducked his head and scratched the side of his nose before reaching for another piece of funnel cake. Jason chuckled next to him and Tim gave him a questioning look.

He pointed to the side of his nose. “You have sugar on your nose.”

“Oh,” Tim said, wiping at his nose. “Did I get it?”

Jason shook his head, biting his lip to keep his grin from stretching wider. “Here, let me,” he said, reaching out and brushing against the side of Tim’s nose.

His hand fell away slowly and Tim stared up at him, holding his gaze. He licked his lips and saw Jason’s eyes fall to his mouth before widening in horror because he knew Tim had noticed the action. He cleared his throat and looked away, shoving the funnel cake in Tim’s direction.

Tim took the hint and picked at the food, keeping the words and questions from tumbling out.

They pushed through the crowd, tense silence enveloping them. It was unsettling. Even before they’d started getting along, things had never felt like this. Unable to find the right words, Tim ate food, using that to keep the silence from getting any more awkward.

By the time the plate was empty, they were back at the front of the market. Jason tossed the powdered sugar covered plate into the last trash can.

“Well, I should get going,” he said, hiking a thumb over his shoulder.

Tim nodded. “Yeah. Me too.”

They stared at each other for another moment. Tim didn’t know who moved first or maybe they moved at the same time, but one second they were standing a couple of feet apart and the next, Jason’s hands were cupping his face and their lips were smashed together in a clumsy and forceful kiss.

Tim’s eyes snapped open when Jason pulled away and stumbled backwards, staring at him. He turned and sprinted, leaving Tim reeling. He took too long to go after him and by the time he’d turned the street corner, Jason was nowhere in sight. He slumped against the side of a building and brushed his fingers over his tingling lips, wondering what had just happened.

~~

By the time Tim walked into school Monday morning he was buzzing with nervous energy. He hadn’t texted Jason all weekend and it wasn’t for lack of trying. He just didn’t know what to say. He bit his lip and wrapped his hands around the straps of his backpack tightly, eyes glancing around the hallway as he walked.

He was really glad Bart usually ran late in the morning because he didn’t know how he would explain away his behavior this time. He knew it would result in nothing but merciless teasing for at least the rest of the day.

He spun the lock on his locker and put in his combination, exchanging the books in his backpack. He let it fall shut and turned around, flinching when he found Jason standing so close behind him.

“Hey,” Jason said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Tim cleared his throat. “Hi.”

They glanced up at each other before looking away.

“I thought you’d be avoiding me, today,” Tim said, shifting his weight.

“Yeah, sorry about that. I wanted to text you, but every time I stared at my phone screen I couldn’t find the words.”

“Oh,” Tim said, staring down at his scuffed up converse. “Why did you run away?”

Jason sighed. “I didn’t know how you were going to take it and I didn’t want to hang around long enough for my heart to be crushed.”

Tim glanced up and found pink dusting Jason’s cheeks. He looked back down at the floor and nudged the tip of his shoe forward until it was touching Jason’s. “That wouldn’t have happened.”

“I-what?”

Tim glanced up again and found Jason gaping at him, eyes wide. “It wouldn’t have happened. Because I liked it. I liked it when you kissed me. It was nice.”

Jason closed his mouth and swallowed. Tim waited. Waited for him to step forward or dip his head or do something that would move them forward, but he did nothing but step backwards, putting space between them.

Tim opened his mouth to protest, but the bell rang and Jason fled, hurrying down the hall and leaving him even more confused than before. He sagged back against the locker and swallowed. Swallowed again, trying to push down the sour taste in the back of his throat and the pain in his chest that felt a little too much like heartbreak.

~~

Every time Tim caught sight of Jason in the hallway, he ducked away or averted his gaze, even when Roy gave him a meaningful look. By the afternoon, Tim was ready to either curl up in a corner and cry everything out or punch Jason in the face. Bart had even asked him why he was sulking at lunch, but he couldn’t bring himself to explain the situation. He didn’t need Bart teasing him for what was really going on.

The stress of school and having his emotions pulled in several different directions was probably why he snapped the next time he saw Jason in the hallway.

“Todd!” he yelled, catching the attention of everyone between them.

Jason turned, eyes widening when he saw who was calling for him. He looked for an exit, but Tim didn’t give him a chance to run away. He shoved Jason as hard as he could and he knew it was surprise more than anything that had him stumbling back.

“What the hell, Tim?” he asked.

“I could ask you the same thing, asshole.”

Jason’s eyes narrowed.

“I thought you were a pretty decent person after being forced to work with you on our project, but I guess I was wrong. You’re nothing but a selfish ass.”

Jason growled and fisted his hands in Tim’s shirt, giving him the slightest bit of pleasure that he could still get Jason so riled up despite the way their relationship had turned into a tentative truce.

“Who the hell are you calling selfish?” he growled.

“The guy who blew me off this morning.”

Jason scoffed. “I didn’t realize I was supposed to meet up with you.”

“I guess I’m just old school for making assumptions after being treated to a kiss,” he hissed.

Jason’s eyes glanced down at his lips and Tim smirked.

“But I guess you’re not brave enough to commit to one person, huh, playboy?”

Jason’s eyes narrowed and Tim gasped when he was slammed into the row of lockers, Jason crowding close. For a second, Tim thought he’d gone too far and was about to get his face punched in instead of what he wanted, but Jason pressed in close and dropped his head, pulling a more than willing kiss from Tim for the whole school to see.

Jason pulled back and stared at him, slowly releasing his grip on Tim’s shirt.

“Was that so hard?” Tim asked, quirking an eyebrow.

He rolled his eyes. “I thought you’d be weirded out.”

Tim shook his head. “Not weirded out, just wanted to know where we stood with each other. I wasn’t exactly down to be kissing project partners or kissing friends.”

“How do you feel about kissing boyfriends?” Jason asked with a smirk.

“Why don’t you find out?” Tim challenged.

Jason ducked his head for another kiss, matching Tim’s smile with one of his own.

And that was the day Tim learned how high Bart could actually screech.

**Author's Note:**

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